Tough passage for Espanyol.

18 points from 18, Espanyol have recieved a bye to the second round of the youth cup where they will face either Arsenal or Leicester. The Spanish side comfortably progressed from their group, but will need to be at their very best if they are to progress further.

The team has got stronger as the competition has progressed with rating increases for Hartman (+8), Martel (+1) Sangante (+2), whilst the capture of GK Nescheret (82) defender Pacho (87) and Ramsey (87) increased the teams first 11 AV rating. With updates now in full swing and a number of the squad due to rise the team could possibly have a stronger look to it by the time their second round fixture comes.

“We are happy with the progress the squad is making, we’ve currently 19 players rated 80 or above currently eligible for this seasons competition of which only 3 can’t play in next seasons competition. This allows us to play a number of different formations without weakening the overall side. We are in the bottom half of the draw which is arguably the harder path to the final, especially when we consider that our next game could be against last seasons semi finalist who boast the likes of Martinelli and Caicedo as just a couple of players that jump off the paper. Arsenal are equally no push-overs and historically are strong in all cup competitions. In general there are some very strong sides in the competition, which in some cases have been further strengthened by loaning in the best players from teams who did not enter, something I think the organisers should look at going forwards, given the squad cap of 50 should be adequate enough for teams to a) Firstly enter b) to not require additional resources from other teams. If they do, I don’t personally think that teams who don’t enter should be allowed to loan players out for the purpose of this competition”.